WORSHIP CONCEPTS

Before one Israelite settled in Canaan, God through Moses made two things
abundantly clear about their sacrificial worship assemblies. Their sacrificial worship
would be distinctly different from the idolatrous worship of the Canaanites. Their worship
would be distinctly different because their God was distinctly different.

First, Israelites in Canaan would offer sacrificial worship at only one location, and
God Himself would pick the location (Deuteronomy 12:5,11,13-14). They could not
assembly just anywhere and offer sacrificial worship. They could not individually do their
"own thing" and offer sacrificial worship at a place they individually preferred.
Assemblies for sacrificial worship occurred at the place God selected, and only there.

Second, all the men of the nation were to assemble for sacrificial worship at this
place three times a year (Deuteronomy 16:16). Those three times were the feast of
unleaven bread or Passover; the feast of weeks also known as the feast of harvest or the
feast of first fruits and much later Pentecost; and the feast of booths also known as the
feast of tabernacles or feast of ingathering.

That says to me Israel was a very small country. Women and families were not
excluded, just not commanded to make the pilgrimage. If every man had to make this
pilgrimage to a single place on foot or donkey, it had to be a small area.

After Israel became established as a people in Canaan, the pilgrimages began.
Thousands upon thousands of people walked to this place for a huge worship assembly.
As Israel grew in numbers, the numbers of people who made the pilgrimage grew--tens
of thousands, hundreds of thousands, and maybe even a few million by the time of the
Jesus' life. Evidence strongly suggests that after Jerusalem became that designated
place, singing became a part of the pilgrimage. As people neared Mount Zion and the
Jerusalem temple, the hills and the valleys would echo the sound of thousands of people
joyfully singing. One of their songs we know as Psalm 122.

Psalm 122:1-9 I was glad when they said to me, "Let us go to the house of the Lord." Our
feet are standing Within your gates, O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, that is built As a city that is
compact together; To which the tribes go up, even the tribes of the Lord--An ordinance
for Israel--To give thanks to the name of the Lord. For there thrones were set for
judgment, The thrones of the house of David. Pray for the peace of Jerusalem: "May they
prosper who love you. "May peace be within your walls, And prosperity within your
palaces." For the sake of my brothers and my friends, I will now say, "May peace be
within you." For the sake of the house of the Lord our God, I will seek your good.

I wish I could hear the sound of thousands upon thousands of joyful voices
singing as they approached Mount Zion. I know my reaction to that sound. The hairs on
my head would strain to stand on end. Chills would run over my whole body. Tears
would fill my eyes and flow down my cheeks. I know that would happen because that is
what happens today when I hear Christians full of joy sing praise to God.

When Jesus was crucified as God's sacrificial Lamb and resurrected to life
again by God, an amazing transition occurred.

The complex worship of God that involved a specific place with specific
rituals and procedures conducted by specific people in the tiny nation of
Israel became the worship of God among the nations with no emphasis on
place or rituals or people in charge.

When Jesus Christ was received as Lord by believers who were Jews and who
were not Jews, worship still involved joyful hearts filled with gratitude.

But a specific place was no longer essential.

A specific building was no longer essential.

Animal sacrifices were no longer essential.

Rituals no longer played a key role.

Priests no longer had to supervise.

Worshipping God was simple and could occur anywhere among those who
belong to Jesus Christ.

The basic objective in worshipping God remained unchanged: worship
declares we are God's people who exist to praise God and encourage each
other.

The complete concept of worship is not limited to set acts and procedures, or
an assembly, or a group activity.

If I had time, I could explain why the complete concept of worship was
never limited.

Even in Israel hundreds of years before Jesus was crucified and
resurrected, both Moses and the prophets explained worship was an
existence based on a heart and behavioral response to God.

We collectively gather here this morning to honor and thank God for what
He did and does for us in Jesus Christ.

Our gathering also affirms our desire and will to be God's people.

Not only do we seek to honor God, but we seek to encourage each other
as we dedicate ourselves to being a community of God's people.

But worship does not begin and end with an assembly in this building.

We collectively gather to praise our God and honor our Savior.

We collectively gather to reaffirm our commitment to each other as a
community of God's people.

But worship is equally about who we are everyday and how we live.

When Paul made this statement in Romans 12:1,2,
Therefore I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and
holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship. And do not
be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you
may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.he was stating in terms they readily understood that every aspect of every day of life is a worshipful offering of self to God.

It is impossible to worship God at an assembly on Sunday and willingly use
your life and body for evil the rest of the week.

While a definite expression of worship occurs in our assemblies, for the
Christian all of life is involved in worship.

I want to share two things that distress me spiritually about common concepts
of worship styles.

Concern #1: the tendency of some Christians to compartmentalize life.

In this view, worship is strongly associated with a set procedure in an
assembly of Christians on Sunday.

Spiritual life is viewed primarily by what occurs in that assembly.

That religious compartment is regarded as so unique that people are
declared to be faithful or unfaithful on the basis of attendance and activities
in that assembly.

That religious compartment of life is absolutely essential, non-negotiable.

No matter what else you do in your life, you must be in that assembly.

You can do some horribly evil things with your life Monday through
Saturday, but do not dare even consider missing that assembly.

Thus worship is viewed primarily as the activity of an assembly on Sunday,
and worship occurs in set procedures at a set time.

BUT, family is a different compartment, work is a different compartment, real
life is a different compartment, and fun is a different compartment.

And there is a natural, significant separation between the church activity of
worship and those other four compartments.

Christianity is never viewed as a whole life existence [which is the common
view of the New Testament].

Concern # 2: the tension that exists between two basic worship concepts.

Concept one: worship is a serious occasion to be approached with reverence
[and there are specific definitions assigned to "serious" and "reverence"].

Reverence demands that you be solemn, quiet, and reserved.

Reverence is expressed by reserved actions and silence.

The Bible statements that speak to these Christians are:

Habakkuk 2:20 "But the Lord is in His holy temple. Let all the earth be
silent before Him."

Revelation 8:1 When the Lamb broke the seventh seal, there was
silence in heaven for about half an hour.

Christians who prefer this worship style think the nature of worship should
be more like the solemness of a funeral.

I personally have no doubt that if we actually saw God this very moment,
there would be silence unlike anything you have ever heard.

Concept two: worship is a joyful occasion to be approached with celebration.

You feel God's grace, and you rejoice.

You feel God's forgiveness, and you give thanks.

You feel God's mercy, and you show your gratitude.

You feel blessed, and you declare it.

This conviction focuses praise on the wonder of God's glorious work in
Jesus' cross and crucifixion, and Christians declare their gratitude.

The Bible statements that speak to these Christians include:

Psalm 5:11,12 But let all who take refuge in You be glad, Let them ever
sing for joy; And may You shelter them, That those who love Your name
may exult in You. For it is You who blesses the righteous man, O Lord,
You surround him with favor as with a shield.

Acts 2:46,47 Day by day continuing with one mind in the temple, and
breaking bread from house to house, they were taking their meals
together with gladness and sincerity of heart, praising God and having
favor with all the people. And the Lord was adding to their number day
by day those who were being saved.

Christians who worship in this manner think of worship as being a
celebration of God's glorious works.

I personally have no doubt that if we in this audience heard God tell us,
"Well done, faithful servants. Enter into the joy of your Lord" (Matthew
25:23), there would be rejoicing in this room unlike anything you have
ever heard in your life.

"And which worship style is right?"

Neither and both.

No matter which style a person uses, if his or her heart is not honoring
God, it is not worship. And it does not matter if it is quiet as a tomb or a
gigantic celebration.

But, when hearts honor God, both styles are worship.

Something is happening among Christians that makes Satan laugh and God
grieve.

"I believe that Jesus is the resurrected Lord and Christ. Do you?" "Yes, but I
reject your worship!"

"I have redirected my life and seek to belong only to Jesus. Do you?" "Yes,
but your worship makes me sick!"

"I have been baptized into Christ to let God destroy my sins and to place Jesus
on the throne of my heart as my Lord. Have you?" "Yes, but your worship is
ridiculous!"

"I am trying to live a godly life and be a godly person. Are you?" "Yes, but
your worship is disgusting!"

And every time Christians hold those attitudes toward Christians, Satan laughs
and God grieves.

In this room, we are different people who live in very different worlds. Some of you
ladies never have been sexually propositioned. Some of you ladies are commonly
sexual targets. Some of you men do not work with men who relish a sexual conquest.
Some of you men hear men talk about sexual conquests frequently. Some of you would
not know marijuana smoke if you smelled it. Some of you are tempted to smoke
marijuana every week. Some of you never drank a beer. Some of you commonly must
do business on occasions when everyone is drinking. Some of you have never been
abused, or rejected, or neglected, or ridiculed. Some of you endure abuse, rejection,
neglect, or ridicule every day of your life.

Right here right now there are teens, and men, and women whose lives are a war
zone every single day. They struggle to place their trust in a merciful God full of grace.
What they need and yearn for is to worship with fellow believers in a way that soothes
their bruised hearts, encourages their wounded spirits, and energizes them for another
week of war and temptation. They do not need harassment. They need the joy of
salvation rekindled every week. They need the encouragement of worship.